KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — She went to the city hoping to seek a brighter future. But her visit quickly turned into a nightmare after the 16-year-old Sarawakian was repeatedly raped and assaulted by her father at his rented unit above a row of shops at Lorong Haji Taib 1 in Chow Kit.

The 38-year-old father, who sold religious books, even hit her with a hammer, strangled her and threatened her with a knife to ensure she would not speak to anyone about his sick lust.

The girl, from Lundu, had intended to further her studies in Kuala Lumpur.

Her ordeal began eight hours after arriving at her father’s doorstep on August 26. At 12.05am, the suspect had violated her sexually and forced the girl to perform oral sex on him. He then forced himself on her as she struggled to escape.

Police sources said he continued to rape her repeatedly over the next three weeks until she was rescued on Thursday.

A source said: “The suspect hit her knees with a hammer, slapped, strangled and kicked her before placing a knife on her neck. We believe he did that so she would keep mum.

“She worked at a nearby wholesale shop to earn pocket money. She was living just steps away from the Chow Kit police station but perhaps was too scared to reach out for help.”

A neighbour, living near the suspect’s unit, alerted the girl’s mother after hearing her cries. The mother lodged a police report in Lundu that she believed her daughter was being assaulted, on September 8.

“The mother gave a vague address and we had trouble locating the teenager. It was only on Thursday that we received information on the exact location.”

Another source added a raiding team knocked on the door of the unit at noon on Thursday but no one answered.

Police officers had to climb through the airwell before breaking into the room and finding the suspect and his daughter.

“The victim who was in tears, ran and hugged a female police officer in the raiding team. She had bruises on her forehead and a cut on her neck.”

The suspect denied the allegations, insisting he had only hugged his daughter to sleep as she missed home, the source added.

The victim was taken to the police station where her statement was recorded. She told police she did not seek help from the police, friends or her colleagues because she feared her father.

“We believe she could have been raped more than 10 times. He may have hit her mercilessly out of frustration and to ensure she did not tell anyone of his exploits.”

The suspect, whose remand ends today, had been arrested previously for a drug-related offence.